Harry Potter and the Year of the Crystal
by EvilSlytherinPrincess
Summary: Rated for current content, may change; Harry Potter's sixth year, two students transfer from the other schools and with them comes evil as well as love- but who brings what?
1. Welcome to Hogwarts

Complete Explanation: Harry returns to Hogwarts and meets two transfer students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. With them come a lot of problems, a lot of evil, and just a little bit of love. What do these students have to do with Harry and Voldemort? Don't you wish you knew?  
  
Disclaimer: I, of course, own nothing that you recognize. Which is a lot. So I take no credit.  
  
NOTE: This story is set in Harry's sixth year so it's full of spoilers from all the other books, so if you haven't read them, don't read this.  
  
I hope everyone likes it and reviews, although the first chapter isn't really that interesting. But read it anyway...  
  
*Chapter One: Welcome to Hogwarts.*  
  
"Hurry up Ron, were going to miss the train." snapped Hermione Granger as she, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter hurried across Platform 9¾ toward the Hogwarts Express, which would take them to school for the year.  
  
"That's easy for you to say! You aren't pushing one of these!" exclaimed Ron, referring to the trolley full of luggage that rolled along in front of him.  
  
"Well, you were the one who wanted to combine all our things onto two trolleys, weren't you? So there's really no reason for you to be complaining." replied Hermione curtly. She shifted the one thing she was carrying, her cat Crookshanks, over her other shoulder. He hissed as she jostled him. "Sorry baby." she whispered.  
  
Hermione glanced over at Harry, who was pushing their other trolley. He'd been strangely silent all morning. In fact, she recalled, Harry hadn't really done much of anything all summer. He'd stayed with his aunt and uncle up until the day before, when he'd met up with them in Diagon Alley to get his school things.  
  
This was strange, because Harry hated his aunt and uncle almost as much as they hated him. Why hadn't he tried to leave them? His responses to her letters had been short, a mere three lines on each.  
  
Sighing, she figured that Harry was probably still upset about the death of his godfather, Sirius. 'He probably blames himself.' she thought. If Harry had bothered to learn Occlumency like she'd told him, he wouldn't have seen that vision, wouldn't have gone to the Ministry of Magic. He wouldn't have needed rescuing.  
  
Still, Harry hadn't even tried to move on. He seemed stuck in a daze. She couldn't help but wonder if there was something else bothering him.  
  
Climbing onto the Hogwarts Express, Hermione tried to forget her worrying. After all, she was going back to her favorite place in the entire world. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
Smiling contentedly, Hermione wondered what they'd be learning that year. Unlike most students, she loved to work and found all of her school assignments fascinating. Her only concern was their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. They'd had a new teacher every year, and each one of them had been involved in one of Harry's adventures.  
  
As she opened the door to an empty compartment, Hermione glanced at Harry again. Her eyes flicked over the lightening-bolt scar on his forehead. If only he'd never gotten that. She wondered about how things would be different if Harry had never been attacked by the Dark Lord when he was a baby.  
  
Harry's story was legend. Lord Voldemort had tried to kill him when he was only one-year-old. Somehow the curse had backfired and Voldemort had been stripped of his body. The Dark Lord had disappeared from the world.  
  
Harry had been left with no mom or dad, because before Voldemort could get to him he'd had to go through Harry's parents. Harry had been sent to live with his nasty aunt and uncle, who were not wizards and instead hated Harry's kind. Harry had grown up in a terrible place. Then, when he turned eleven, Harry had begun his seven years at Hogwarts.  
  
It was too bad that in that same year, Voldemort started trying to resurface. It was thanks to Harry Potter and his friends that Voldemort hadn't returned in Harry's first two years at Hogwarts. Then, in Harry's fourth year, Voldemort had returned, and only at the end of their fifth year had the Ministry and therefore the community acknowledged his presence.  
  
Every year something terrible happened to them. Hermione knew without a doubt that their sixth year would be no different. She just didn't know what exactly to expect.  
  
Shaking her head, Hermione tried to listen as Ron began talking about his favorite thing in the world- Quidditch. While the wizard sport played on broomstick was interesting, Hermione didn't understand how the boys could go on about it for hours.  
  
Fortunately, Hermione was not going to have to sit through hours of Quidditch talk. Harry Potter had something that he needed to talk to his friends about, and talk to them he would.  
  
In fact, he was so focused that he interrupted Ron mid-sentence.  
  
"Guys, I need to tell you something." The tone of his voice made Ron forget what he'd been saying, and Hermione sat up in her seat.  
  
"Well then, go on Harry." she urged. Finally we'll be getting somewhere. She thought to herself.  
  
"Okay, you both remember how last year, we fought to keep a prophecy away from the Death Eaters in the Ministry of Magic?" At their nods he continued. "Well, that Prophecy was about me. Me and Voldemort."  
  
"Well we figured that much. Your name was on the glass ball, remember how-" Ron started, but Hermione threw him a glare and he shut up.  
  
"We never got to hear the Prophecy because it broke, but when I was in Dumbledore's office afterward, he showed me the original prophecy from a Pensieve."  
  
"A pen-what?" asked Ron.  
  
"It stores your memories so that they don't cloud you mind." Hermione rattled off the answer.  
  
"Yeah, well, Dumbledore heard Professor Trelawney when she actually made the prediction and-"  
  
"That woman made an actual prediction? Are you serious? I thought she was a fake!" exclaimed Hermione.  
  
"Yeah, no way could it have been real, but then, Harry did hear one back in third year- remember?" said Ron.  
  
"Apart from the ones where she said he'd die?" scoffed Hermione.  
  
"Would the two of you just keep quiet? I'm trying to talk here!" exclaimed Harry. After their mumbled 'sorrys', Harry continued. "Yeah well, I've memorized the Prophecy. Here, listen." He recited it into the silence.  
  
"THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES....BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES...AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT...AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES....THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES...."  
  
For once it seemed as if neither Hermione nor Ron had anything to say. They just stared at Harry with horrified eyes.  
  
"Yeah, well, you get it, right? I either have to kill him or be killed." Harry muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"Are you sure it's you? It never said your name..." thought Hermione aloud.  
  
"It's me. Voldemort marked me. I've been over this with Dumbledore. The only question is what to do now that I know." Harry sighed. "I don't really want to talk about it. I just wanted you to know."  
  
"Wow." breathed Ron softly. "This is interesting." There was a pause, in which all three were unsure of what to say. In the end, both Hermione and Ron decided to leave Harry be for the moment.  
  
"Would you dears like anything to eat?" asked a lady from the door of their compartment. That distracted Ron as he and Harry made a huge selection, with Harry's money of course, and settled down for the ride. Hermione sat and looked out the window, wishing again that things could be simple.  
  
But then, simple just wasn't their thing. No, they did much better when things were chaotic.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The sorting of the first years went by rather quickly. There were fewer students than in previous years. Harry wondered if perhaps parents were too fearful of the Dark Lord to send their children to a place like Hogwarts. A place where Harry Potter stayed.  
  
Of the three new Gryffindors, there was only one boy. His name was Robert Creevey, and he was the third Creevey to attend Hogwarts. His brothers, Dennis and Colin, considered Harry to be someone worth adoring. Colin was never without his camera, and was most often using it to take pictures of Harry. No doubt Robert would be just as annoying.  
  
Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands for their attention. Harry raised his eyes from the first years and focused on the Headmaster. As Harry took in the man, he couldn't help but see that Dumbledore seemed incredibly old. He seemed almost finished with his life. But thinking about that was stupid. Harry knew that Dumbledore would do everything in his power to remain there for Harry until his inevitable encounter with Voldemort was played out.  
  
"I congratulate all of our first years on their acceptance into Hogwarts. Now, if I may, I must also introduce two very different students. They are part of our exchange program. As many of you may have heard, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have agreed to this in order to better the relationships between the two schools."  
  
"From Hogwarts, Padma Patil and Hannah Abbott have both gone to different schools. In their place, Hogwarts would like to welcome Jonathan LeMont and Miranda Raie." At that, two students emerged from the shadows in the corner of the Great Hall. Coming around the table, they made quite an interesting pair.  
  
The boy was tall. He was obviously the student from Beauxbatons, the signature blonde hair hanging down just past his shoulders. His eyes shown in the light from the torches, and Harry could obviously tell that the deep blue, almost purple orbs were drawing attention to the boy. Looking around, he found that most of the female population was practically drooling.  
  
Jonathan seemed to shift nervously. No doubt his looks were fairly common at his old school. Harry felt a bit sorry for the boy, but he didn't waste too much time on him. With that type of nervousness, there was no way the boy would ever make it into Gryffindor. Most likely Dumbledore would put him with the Hufflepuffs.  
  
Harry shifted his attention to the student from Durmstrang. The girl was strikingly pale. Her dark red lips and long black hair framed her skin which looked almost too white. Her eyes studied the students in front of her. Harry sucked in his breath as he locked eyes with her and discovered that her eyes were impossibly black.  
  
She stared back at him, not bothering to glance at his scar, but instead simply looking at him. When her gaze moved on, Harry let out a breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding. Miranda gazed around the room, not looking the least bit intimidated. Harry felt a sort of awe toward her.  
  
"Well, now that you've all had your fun staring at our new students, I would like them to be sorted by the Sorting Hat into appropriate houses for their stay here." Dumbledore gestured for Miranda to take a seat on the stool.  
  
The Sorting Hat made quick work of her. "SLYTHERIN!" it bellowed after a few seconds. Harry felt a rush of disappointment, but then asked himself if he'd expected a Durmstrang student to be placed anywhere else.  
  
He looked over and saw Miranda sitting down next to Draco Malfoy, Harry's long time enemy. Malfoy looked over at Harry and sneered. Harry glared back at him. He had a feeling that his problems with Malfoy had just gotten worse.  
  
Jonathan quickly took Miranda's place on the stool, but the hat took much longer to place him. Jonathan seemed to argue with the hat just as much as Harry had. After a good five minutes, the hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Harry sat up. This was an interesting development. He hadn't expected Jonathan to be in Gryffindor. But then, he told himself, he didn't even know the boy. Why should he judge? Jonathan settled himself next to Hermione, and the feast began.  
  
"Well Jonathan, you're the Beauxbatons student, aren't you?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Yes, I am. How could you tell?" Jonathan replied. 'Not from your accent.' thought Harry. The boy didn't have one at all!  
  
"Your hair. When the others came for the Triwizard Tournament, they almost all had blonde hair." answered Hermione.  
  
"Ah, yes, the tournament. I so wished I could participate in that. Unfortunately, I was not old enough. Of course, that might not have been a problem." Jonathan remarked softly.  
  
"Er, why's that?" asked Hermione. She looked up at Harry and Ron, all of them knowing only too well what Jonathan was referring too.  
  
"Your young Harry Potter seemed to participate while he was underage." Jonathan didn't look up from his food as he spoke, so he didn't realize that the whole of the sixth year Gryffindor House was listening to him.  
  
"Yes, Harry Potter's cheating the system was big news for our school. We were all outraged when we heard what he did. And then he went on and murdered the other Hogwarts Champion so that he could be the soul victor." Hermione stifled her gasp of outrage as Jonathan continued.  
  
"We were all very much in shock when our representatives came home with the news." Jonathan paused and seemed to notice the silence around him.  
  
Looking up, he glanced across the table and locked eyes with Harry. Staring at him, Harry watched in a sort of sense of amusement as Jonathan's eyes took in his scar, then widened slightly, and a deep red rushed to his cheeks.  
  
"H-Harry P-Potter." Jonathan whispered. "G-Gryffindor is your house?" Nobody answered him. Jonathan glanced around and noticed the glares of the sixth years. Ron's face was so red with fury that Harry was sure he would see smoke coming out of his ears any second. Hermione looked at Jonathan with something that Harry could only define as pity.  
  
"Um, perhaps my story is not correct?" supplied Jonathan. "If so, please enlighten me." At first nobody could say anything. They all turned weak eyes to Harry. Sighing, Harry realized that, as the one who'd been insulted it was probably his responsibility to correct Jonathan.  
  
Then Harry realized that he'd probably be the one to correct Jonathan even if the problem wasn't about him. Dean and Seamus looked at him in the same way they did when they waited for instruction during DA meetings. It seemed Harry was their leader in more places than those lessons.  
  
"Well Jonathan, let's put it this way. Almost everything you said was untrue." Harry replied slowly, encouraged by Hermione's nod of approval. Apparently his calm response sat well with her.  
  
"While I did participate in the tournament, it was not arranged by my doing. A Death Eater disguised as one of our professors tricked the Goblet into making me compete. I did not want to." Jonathan glanced around at all the vigorous nods of the others before returning his attention to Harry.  
  
"In the final task, Cedric and I decided to take the cup together, to make it a tie. The cup turned out to be a portkey. We landed in a graveyard. There, Cedric was murdered by what was currently Lord Voldemort." Harry noticed Jonathan wince at the name.  
  
"Voldemort returned to his human form, very much alive. I'm sure you already knew all of that. Why did you think otherwise? Don't you read the Daily Prophet?" Harry asked.  
  
"Not really, we do not trust it. That paper is always telling lies. We just start throwing them away whenever a copy makes its way onto our grounds. I- um, I apologize Harry Potter. I was very, very wrong." Jonathan looked up at Harry with a pained expression. Harry suddenly felt tired of the conversation.  
  
"It's okay Jonathan. Now you know." He said quietly. There was a quiet hush along the table. The students all knew the story, but they had never heard Harry speak so calmly about it. Harry had surprised himself, but he knew there were more important things to think about.  
  
Ron glanced back and forth between Harry and Jonathan. He realized that Harry had just spoken more to Jonathan than he had to him or Hermione all day. Except for the explanation of his Prophecy, or course.  
  
For a moment longer, the table was quiet. Then the students began to talk again. Ron glanced over at Harry, and was surprised to see him staring over at the Slytherin table. He followed Harry's gaze and saw with some surprise that Harry was looking at Malfoy.  
  
"What's the matter Harry?" Ron asked quietly, so that only the two of them could hear. Harry turned confused eyes to Ron.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, blinking slowly.  
  
"Something happen with Malfoy? You've been staring." Ron remarked.  
  
"Malfoy? What are you talking about?" asked Harry, wrinkling up his nose. "I was looking at- er, nobody."  
  
"Come on! What were you looking at? You're an awful liar you know." Ron pestered him.  
  
"Oh fine. I was..." He lowered his voice so that Ron barely heard him. "I was looking at Miranda."  
  
"The new girl? Why?" exclaimed Ron, drawing a curious glance from Parvati Patil.  
  
"I, well, she's... I don't know!" Harry sighed, leaning forward on his elbows.  
  
"Do you- are you- you don't-" Ron stammered.  
  
"What? Spit it out Weasley."  
  
"You like her!" Ron exclaimed, making Parvati glance over again.  
  
"I do not! I don't even know her!"  
  
"You do like her! You look just like Ginny did when she was drooling over you!"  
  
"No, I don't Ron." Harry snapped. "Shove off."  
  
"No- I'm sure about this, but Harry?"  
  
"What?" Harry turned to him, exasperated.  
  
"Be careful, okay. She is in Slytherin." Ron warned.  
  
"Whatever." Harry rolled his eyes. But he couldn't help wondering, 'So what if she is in Slytherin? Someone that beautiful can't be evil!'  
  
~*~*~  
  
Draco Malfoy stared at the creature in front of him. She was stunning, and so cruel. He was enchanted.  
  
"Tell me, what is there to do around here? I mean, besides attend classes?" Miranda asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder.  
  
"Well, not much. My father always said Hogwarts was the worst place in the world. All there is to do is play Quidditch and maybe go to Hogsmeade." He sneered and threw a quick glance over at the Gryffindor table. "That and bother those pathetic Gryffindors."  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"Well, Slytherins have always been at odds with Gryffindors, and my personal relationship with Harry Potter has just made things more fun." Draco smirked.  
  
"Explain." she ordered. Surprised by her tone, Draco hesitated a second. She noticed his pause and frowned, causing him to quickly continue.  
  
"Let's just say that causing trouble for The-Boy-Who-Lived is one of my top priorities." supplied Draco.  
  
"Can I be of any assistance?" asked Miranda. Draco looked at her eyes and noticed them shining with a mischievous glint. No, actually, they were shining with flecks of red. Miranda had red in her eyes! He felt arms shiver as he remembered his father telling him something about Voldemort's eyes being red...  
  
Pushing that aside, Draco gave Miranda one of his rare smiles. "I'm sure you can be of perfect use." he told her.  
  
"Do tell." She leaned forward slightly, eager to hear his plan.  
  
"Well, why don't you get to know the Trio to start with. Maybe they'll be able to trust a new face, even if it is Slytherin."  
  
"The Trio?"  
  
"Harry Potter and his two friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They are the very substance of Gryffindor."  
  
"Okay, I'll earn their trust. But why should they give me the time of day?" questioned Miranda.  
  
"They don't know you. They're the type of people to always look for the positive. Besides, I do believe Potter has already developed a sort of attraction toward you." They both glanced over at the Gryffindor table, and noticed Harry's gaze on them.  
  
"Yes, I do think I can use that to my advantage, but why are we doing this again? You know, causing trouble?" asked Miranda, her forehead wrinkling.  
  
"Why, we are doing this to have a little fun. Nothing more. Now, why don't you go introduce yourself to Potter." said Draco.  
  
"Why, I do believe that I'll do just that. I've always liked having fun." Miranda smirked as she rose from the table and started toward the unsuspecting Gryfinndors.  
  
At the last second, she changed her mind and altered her course. Stepping outside the Great Hall, she pulled out her wand and quickly charmed herself invisible. It was always best to understand how your opponent thought before going against them. The rule rushed back at her, and she obeyed her training. After all, she wasn't from Durmstrang for nothing.  
  
Silently walking up to the Gryffindors, she hovered behind them, intent on their conversation. She listened as the girl, Hermione Granger, talked to Jonathan LeMont. Resisting the urge to yank the girl's pretty, long brown hair, Miranda focused on Jonathan.  
  
His gaze kept shifting around, as he watched the activity inside the Great Hall. Of course, he would be on his guard. Jonathan knew when he was in danger. He could probably feel her presence, and her absence from the Slytherin table probably added to his suspicion. She'd never liked Jonathan.  
  
She knew that she'd have to go on pretending not to know him from somewhere else. That way he wouldn't find out how much she knew about him, and neither would any nosy Hogwarts students. Still, she couldn't just ignore him.  
  
Smirking to herself, she encouraged her eyes to drop their invisibility and meet Jonathan's. She knew her feelings toward him would change her eyes to an extremely dark red, and he would be reminded of someone else who had red eyes...  
  
Sure enough, Jonathan practically jumped up from the table. He succeeded in dumping his entire goblet of water all over the boy called Ron Weasley. Quickly, Miranda changed her eyes back to invisible, and watched with glee the unfolding events.  
  
Ron sputtered as the cold water soaked into his robes. His slight cry of outrage silenced the table as eyes turned to them. Miranda smothered her laughter as a girl who could only be Ron's sister snorted and in turn started choking on her own water.  
  
The boy sitting next to her immediately put down his camera and began pounding her back with enough force to knock the poor girl into the table. Hermione cried out for him to stop it, reaching across the table to put a restraining hand on the boy.  
  
Jonathan was meanwhile apologizing to Ron, stuttering over his words in what appeared to be complete sincerity. Miranda knew better. Jonathan was all lies. There was never a sincere word out of his mouth.  
  
There was only one person out of the group that wasn't doing anything. Harry Potter just watched the whole thing with a bemused expression on his face, like it was some boring sitcom on one of those Muggle TV's.  
  
Feeling the need to further be involved in the situation, Miranda placed her hand on Harry's shoulder. He instantly jerked up, the muscles in his arms coiling. He glanced around sharply for his attacker.  
  
Making no noise, she gently trailed her hand up to his chin, and forcefully turned his head toward her. His eyes frantically searched the empty air. Smiling, Miranda let her other hand glide over his face while she held his head still with her other hand.  
  
Slowly, Miranda pushed back the locks of hair covering Harry's scar. She traced the mark almost lovingly. He tried to pull away, but she held him in place. She knew he wouldn't raise his hands to search for her because it would draw too much attention from the students.  
  
Carefully, she leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his scar, causing the mark to instantly burn green. She knew that it must have hurt him, but he showed no sign of pain. Smiling, she withdrew. Then, she whispered into his ear, so that nobody would hear, and he wouldn't be able to identify the voice.  
  
"Hello Harry Potter. How are you this fine evening?"  
  
"Just wonderful." He whispered back. "Who are you?"  
  
"A friend, Harry Potter, believe it or not, I am a friend." With that, she walked over to the Slytherin table. Grabbing Draco's arm, she dragged the Slytherin boy out into the hallway.  
  
"What are you doing?" he hissed at her, his voice venom.  
  
"I'm learning about my enemy before I act. That's what you're supposed to do. You know that." She flicked her wand and turned to face him, now visible, right down to the frown on her face.  
  
"What?" he asked, annoyed by her disapproving glare.  
  
"Why do you bother to mess with them? They are just pesky little kids! Are they even worth your time, Draco, son of Lucius?" she challenged him. She knew that he'd either have to admit that they were worthy of his time, or else acknowledge that what he did was stupid.  
  
"Er, well, you see..." Draco stammered to a halt.  
  
"Exactly, not worth your time." She answered for him. "How about I introduce you to a different type of entertainment." Draco agreed, which was good, because Miranda hadn't meant it as a suggestion, but as an order.  
  
~*~*~  
  
What do you think? Keep it going? Please give me your comments. If you like it, maybe I'll try to get the next chapter out this week. There's more magic in it, and Harry's little crush on Miranda has some funny side effects. And what exactly is Miranda showing Draco. And who is Jonathan LeMont? Guess you'll just have to wait and see. 


	2. Harry's Hopelessness

Hello everybody! Here's Chapter Two- finished it faster than I planned...  
  
*Chapter Two: Harry's Hopelessness*  
  
That night, it took Harry a long time to fall asleep. And it wasn't because he was wondering about how he would defeat Voldemort. It wasn't because he was worrying about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that he would meet in two days. It wasn't even because he was worrying about the mysterious person who had visited him during dinner.  
  
No, Harry Potter was lying awake because he was thinking about Miranda Raie.  
  
He'd never expected to feel the way he did about a Slytherin. About a Slytherin he'd never even met! But Ron had been right at dinner. Harry definitely fancied Miranda. He couldn't get her face out of his mind. He wondered when he'd get to meet her. He thought about that until around midnight, when Harry finally managed to fall asleep.  
  
But his sleep was short lived, because Harry had only been asleep for twenty minutes before a scream split the silence. Harry, along with all the other boys in his room, sprang out of bed and grabbed his wand.  
  
"It came from outside!" cried Ron, rushing to the window. The four others crowded around him, peering down at the grounds.  
  
"Do you see anything?" asked Neville Longbottom, his voice squeaking in terror.  
  
"No." responded Seamus.  
  
"Hold on a second." Harry said. "Do you hear that?"  
  
"What?" asked Dean.  
  
"Sh. Listen!" Harry frantically gestured for them to be quiet. He could hear something coming from across the grounds. It was a soft voice, singing!  
  
"What's singing have to do with that scream we heard?" asked Ron.  
  
"Think Ron. We are inside, and the scream came from outside and we still heard it. Whoever is singing had to have heard the scream... so why wouldn't they be running to help?" supplied Harry, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "So obviously whoever is singing must have caused the scream, or was the one screaming.  
  
"Er, maybe they were singing too loudly to hear?" suggested Dean.  
  
"You don't really think that's possible, do you? They'd have to have been singing louder than physically possible in order not to hear it. And we would have heard the singing before the scream in that case!" The boys spun around when they heard Hermione.  
  
"When did you get here?" sputtered Ron.  
  
"Well, I heard the scream and I figured that I couldn't do anything by myself and Parvati and Lavender are no use whatsoever so I came here!" Hermione said, looking a little offended. Then her cheeks reddened a little and she glanced away. "Er, maybe you guys should put some robes on?"  
  
Harry looked down and realized that the five of them had been standing in nothing but their boxers. They quickly fumbled to pull on whichever robe lay closest to them. When the guys finished, the six students crowded around the window again.  
  
"Hey, the singing's stopped!" remarked Ron.  
  
"Yeah, but look, someone's walking up to the school, look!" Neville pointed toward a clump of shadows.  
  
"I'm seeing two people, how about you?" said Seamus, peering harder at the shadows.  
  
"Yeah." Harry looked closer. "Does one of them look like a blonde to you?" The others nodded their affirmation. "Malfoy?"  
  
"Most likely. Who else could it be?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Could be that Jonathan guy." suggested Dean.  
  
"Yeah, could be. Somebody run down to the fifth year's room and check if he's there." said Ron.  
  
"I thought he was a sixth year!" said Hermione.  
  
"He is, but we don't have any room in this dorm for another student." muttered Seamus.  
  
"Oh." Was all that Hermione said.  
  
"So, is anyone going?" asked Ron a few seconds later.  
  
"Not now, I'm trying to see who else is there." said Dean, leaning forward.  
  
"I can't tell. He has his hood up and it is covering his face. Looks shorter than Malfoy though, don't you think?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Don't assume its Malfoy, could be-" Ron started, but Hermione cut him off.  
  
"It's not Jonathan. I talked to him for a while in the Common Room before bed. He isn't the type to be walking around in the middle of the night. And he definitely isn't the type to sing." Hermione replied defensively.  
  
"Neither is Malfoy." Ron scoffed.  
  
"Look, guys, it doesn't matter." Neville interrupted. "We need to find out if there's anything wrong. Remember- someone screamed."  
  
"Right. So what do we do?" asked Seamus. Again, Harry looked up to find everyone's eyes on him. Sighing, he stepped away from them. Why do I always have to be the leader? He wondered to himself.  
  
"Harry? Any ideas?" Ron asked.  
  
"Er- maybe we should just wait and ask a professor in the morning. After all, I wouldn't want to play the hero." He added with a bit of scorn in his voice.  
  
"Harry, this is different, this is happening right now, and we all heard it- " started Hermione, but Harry cut her off by raising a hand.  
  
"No, its okay, really- I don't care what's going on. I don't want to get involved this year." Harry said, walking over to his bed.  
  
"B-But Harry- that isn't exactly your choice. I mean, come on, we have to do something!" protested Ron.  
  
"No, I don't want to. I have my own problems." Harry said crossly. Hermione scowled and walked over so that she was standing in front of Harry.  
  
"I've had enough of this attitude. Now, snap out of it! Be the Harry we know, or I shall have to snap you out of it myself." Hermione stated fiercely. Harry looked at her with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Oh? And just how are you going to do that?" He sat down on his bed. "You won't do anything. And I-" Harry was cut off by Hermione's fist coming out and punching him right in his mouth, effectively cutting off whatever it was he'd been trying to say. Outraged, Harry jumped to his feet.  
  
"What the bloody hell was that for?" he bellowed, showing his temper for the first time in months.  
  
"Er, Hermione, I know you're trying to bring back Harry's personality and all, but couldn't you have left this part behind?" asked Ron tentatively. Harry whirled to face him, eyes flashing.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Harry stepped toward Ron. Neville, Dean, and Seamus backed across the room, intently watching the Trio.  
  
"Harry, you've been locked up in your own little world all summer! We just wanted to bring you back to reality." said Hermione. Harry stared at her.  
  
"Bring me back to reality? Are you listening to yourself? I'm living reality. I'm right there. Sirius is dead and Voldemort-" Harry broke off with a sharp glance at the three spectators. "I'm very much in reality, Hermione."  
  
"Yes, that way, but what about being yourself? Talking to us? You've barely spoken at all! And now you just want to ignore it when someone might be hurt?" Hermione paused, slightly out of breath, and then added in a soft voice. "We just want our friend back." Harry looked at her for a full minute, and then turned to Ron.  
  
"You think that too?" He asked. Ron hesitated.  
  
"Er, well... yeah." Harry sighed.  
  
"Alright then. I suppose I have been a bit unsocial." He stated. Hermione smirked.  
  
"More than a little! You've been acting like a perfect stranger." She smiled slightly, and was relieved when Harry gave her a soft grin in response.  
  
"Yeah, well, I still don't think we should do anything right now. It's the middle of the night, and we wouldn't even know where to begin. The grounds are huge." Harry said. After a moment, Ron and Hermione agreed with him.  
  
"You're right. We wouldn't find anything. We'll know if anything happens." Hermione concluded. "Well then, gentlemen, I'll just be off now." She sailed out of the room, and the boys climbed back into their beds.  
  
Ron felt considerably happier. He'd wanted to confront Harry all evening, ever since Harry had gone straight up to bed after dinner. Now Ron thought that maybe things would be different. Still thinking about his friends, Ron fell asleep without much thought as to the reason for strange scream.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It was a very tired group of Gryffindors that made their way into the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast. Draco smirked over at the sixth year boys, who seemed to look extremely tired. Stifling a yawn, he faced Miranda again, and tried to listen to what she was saying. He felt dead on his feet. The Gryffindors hadn't been the only ones up at odd hours last night.  
  
"Malfoy, are you even listening to me?" snapped Miranda, causing Draco to look at her guiltily.  
  
"Er, sort of?" he offered, looking sheepish.  
  
"I was just saying that maybe you aren't cut out for the type of work that we were doing last night... it might be a bit too, how should I put it? Too challenging for someone like you." Miranda smirked at him.  
  
"Someone like me? What do you mean? I was doing an excellent job last night. I followed all the instructions perfectly, and it'll be done by Saturday night!" Draco protested, offended by the girl's comment.  
  
"Just making sure you were really listening Draco, relax. Anyway, while Saturday is good and everything, I do need something else accomplished before we can use the potion." Miranda shot him an evil glance. "Mind you, we'd be stealing..." 'Breaking the rules is so much fun'. She thought to herself. But before she could tell Draco exactly what they needed to steal, Dumbledore rose to his feet and called for their attention.  
  
"It seems that many of you might have heard a suspicious scream last night." He paused as the students nodded. "Right, well, don't worry about that. You see, it seems that our Divinations teacher made the mistake of incorrectly communicating with the, er, spirits. You see, she borrowed a book from the restricted section of the library and it just happened to be the wrong book. Sadly, the book she chose emits a very loud scream whenever opened... I'm sure you understand how something like that might happen..." Dumbledore's voice trailed off and Draco was surprised to notice that the Headmaster seemed to be holding back laughter.  
  
"My point, students, is that there was no danger or trouble at all last night. Just to clarify." Draco snickered as Dumbledore sat down.  
  
"Maybe Trelawney did grab the wrong book, but that probably wasn't the scream most students heard last night." He whispered into Miranda's ear. She grinned impishly at him.  
  
"No, but that story definitely smoothes things over for us, now doesn't it?" The two of them smirked. Pansy Parkinson looked across the table and scowled at them, wishing she could hear what they were saying. Since when had they started acting like life long friends? She thought crossly.  
  
Across the Hall, the Gryffindors were excitedly talking about Dumbledore's announcement. Or rather, they were making fun of their professor. The Trio laughed loudly together, Harry finally out of his depressing 'quiet-mode'.  
  
"That's so perfect. Trelawney got the wrong book! It figures she'd do something like that!" said Ron.  
  
"Can you imagine what the look on her face must have been when the book started screaming?" Harry asked, laughing at the mental image of their professor. He imagined that her already huge-looking eyes would have at least doubled in size. Even Hermione, who normally did not approve of making fun of their teachers, had to add to this conversation.  
  
"I'll bet she started babbling about predicting something like that would happen. 'Headmaster, you wouldn't believe it, but just yesterday I felt a connection tell me that a simple mistake would awake the worry of many children'." Hermione mimicked the voice of the professor she hated.  
  
Still laughing, the three left the Great Hall and headed toward their first class, Charms. Professor Flitwick's class was always interesting, and all three of them enjoyed trying to turn the feathers in front of them invisible.  
  
"Hey, I did it!" cried Ron at one point, looking extremely pleased with himself. Hermione looked over at him sympathetically.  
  
"Actually Ron, you didn't. The wind just blew the feather off the desk. Its just there, by your feet." Ron scowled and plucked the feather from the ground.  
  
"Now class, invisibility isn't really complicated in itself. But there are many different alterations of it. For example, instead of turning yourself invisible, you could simply make just one finger disappear, or perhaps make yourself completely invisible except for one ear. The possibilities really are quite fascinating! We will be spending all of September learning this talent." Flitwick smiled up at them.  
  
"Excuse me, Professor, but, what else will we be learning this year?" This question came from Jonathan, the student from Beauxbatons. "You see, we studied invisibility last year, and I was just wondering..." But Jonathan's voice trailed off as Flitwick scrambled over to him.  
  
"Yes, yes, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang both teach this lesson a year earlier than Hogwarts, but that is our only difference. Come now, if you've studied this already, please give us an example." Flitwick urged, but Jonathan looked down, blushing.  
  
"Oh, I was, er, never very good at Charms, sir. I-I don't think showing you would be a very good idea." He mumbled.  
  
"Nonsense. Go on."  
  
"Well, alright..." Jonathan raised his wand and aimed at the feather in front of him. Instead of it turning invisible, the light of magic from Jonathan's wand seemed to curve out and land on Flitwick. Surprised, he gave a high squeak. That was the only response from him that the students witnessed, because Jonathan had indeed turned him invisible.  
  
"Oh, wow. I've never actually made anything invisible before! Sorry Professor." He mumbled.  
  
"Oh, no problem at all Jonathan. I'll just say the counter-charm..." Harry watched as Flitwick's wand rose from his desk and waved about the air, emitting sparks as Flitwick preformed the spell. Nothing happened.  
  
"Er, Jonathan, are you sure you didn't put some type of locking charm on your spell? Because I'm finding it rather impossible to fix this." said Flitwick's voice. Jonathan shrugged.  
  
"To be honest, I'm not really sure what I did. But you are invisible, so do I get credit?" Jonathan asked tentatively.  
  
"Ah, yes, yes, don't worry lad. I'll just, ah, I'll just go visit the Headmaster, shall I? Get a little help." Harry watched as a black wizard's hat floated from the desk and seemed to settle over what must have been the professor's head. "Er, Miss Granger, you're the prefect, right?" She nodded. "You'll be in charge while I'm gone." With that, the hat left the room.  
  
For a moment, the students sat in stunned silence, and then excited chatter started up. The Trio made there way over to Jonathan, who was resting his head in his hands.  
  
"That was bloody brilliant!" proclaimed Ron.  
  
"Yeah, nobody's ever put a charm on a teacher before!" said Harry. Jonathan looked up, surprised.  
  
"Really? I've done it at least five times back at Beauxbatons."  
  
"Amazing. What did you do?" asked Ron eagerly.  
  
"Er, well... once I set Madame Maxine's cloak on fire." Jonathan mumbled. Hermione gaped at him.  
  
"You did? What did she say?"  
  
"She didn't say much of anything." Jonathan said, grinning mischievously.  
  
"She didn't?" commented Harry, confused. The Madame Maxine that he knew wouldn't let something like that go without some type of reprimand.  
  
"She just ran screeching down the hall. She then publicly scolded me during dinner, and I served detention for the next month."  
  
"The next month?" said Hermione. "B-But you didn't even do it on purpose!"  
  
"Tell her that. I guess embarrassing her is worth the same punishment- intentional or not." Jonathan shrugged. "Anyway, I've had about enough excitement for one day. Which class is next?"  
  
"Transfiguration, but don't worry. We won't have to do anything in class- McGonagall will spend the whole time instructing us on class rules and protocol." said Hermione, smiling at his look of relief. She found herself confirming her conclusions from the night before. Jonathan would never be out breaking the rules. He probably didn't have a devious bone in him- he was too busy getting things wrong.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The Trio was walking away from their Transfiguration class, happy to be free of class for the rest of the afternoon, when Harry suddenly grabbed both of the others' hands and pulled them back around the corner.  
  
"Yikes! Harry what're you doing?" protested Hermione, disengaging her arm from Harry's grasp.  
  
"It's, it's that girl! She's standing in the next hallway!" Harry whispered; his eyes wide.  
  
"What girl?" asked Hermione, starting forward, but Harry grabbed her and pulled her back again.  
  
"No, stay back, be quiet!" he ordered.  
  
"Honestly Harry, what is going on?" demanded Hermione.  
  
"It must be the girl from Durmstrang! Harry fancies her, you know." said Ron.  
  
"I do not fancy her. I just, you know, I'm a little nervous to meet her is all." Harry said quietly, while a deep red flushed onto his cheeks.  
  
"Well, if you don't fancy her, then why would you be nervous?" asked Ron smugly.  
  
"Because- because she's not from here and I want to be sure to give her a good first impression of us." Harry stammered.  
  
"You mean a good first impression of you." Ron insisted.  
  
"No- of us Gryffindors! No doubt Malfoy has filled her head with a bunch of insults!" Harry said, peeking around the corner. He saw her standing next to the stairs, looking around her at the bustle of activity in the hallway.  
  
"Well, she's never going to get any impression if we don't introduce ourselves." Hermione proclaimed. "Besides, we can't stand here waiting until she leaves."  
  
"Exactly, so let's go." Ron agreed. The two of them started around the corner, but soon realized that Harry wasn't with them. Turning around, they walked back to find Harry in the oddest position. He was kneeling on the floor by the window, twisting his head around and squinting.  
  
"Really Harry, what are you doing?" cried Hermione, throwing up her hands. Harry jumped and turned sheepish eyes toward them.  
  
"I was, you know, trying to see my reflection in the window, but its daytime and you have to find the right angle and-" Harry stammered, but Ron interrupted him.  
  
"Why were trying to look at yourself? You look the same as you always do!" Harry blushed at his tone.  
  
"Er- I was just making sure that I- you know..." He looked at Hermione, hoping she'd jump in and save him from having to admit it, but she just folded her arms across her chest and waited.  
  
"Oh fine! I was making sure I looked okay- that my hair wasn't sticking up too bad and that I didn't have anything on my face!" Harry said, turning his back on Ron distressed look.  
  
"You really are acting like Ginny did! You're acting like a lovesick little girl!" Ron cried, but Harry whirled around.  
  
"I am not acting like a little girl." He hissed at them. Hermione's look told him that she was not impressed with his answer.  
  
"Oh really, then how would you describe your actions?" she asked.  
  
"I- I was just being sure that I made a good impression. Y-You wouldn't be making a good impression for the Gryffindor House if you showed up with food in your mouth or something!" Harry protested. Hermione shrugged and turned away.  
  
"Whatever you say. But can we please go now? The sooner we meet her, the sooner we can do something more, er, interesting than this." Hermione whirled around and started around the corner. Ron and Harry followed behind her as she marched up to Miranda.  
  
"Hello. I'm Hermione Granger." She held out her hand. Miranda turned and studied her for a second, as if judging whether the bushy-haired, petite girl was worth her time. After a second she smiled and grasped Hermione's hand.  
  
"Miranda Raie. Pleasure." Miranda turned to Harry and Ron expectantly. "And you are?"  
  
"Ron Weasley." Ron offered his hand, and Miranda took it, still grinning. She looked to Harry, but he suddenly found that he couldn't say anything. Hermione watched as Miranda frowned uncertainly and shot a glance at Ron.  
  
"This is our friend, Harry Potter." supplied Ron, when he realized that Harry wouldn't be speaking anytime soon. Ron watched as his friend slowly took Miranda's outstretched hand and blushed a little.  
  
"Er, so... you three are in Gryffindor?" Miranda asked, looking to Hermione. She nodded.  
  
"Yeah, were in our sixth year." Harry managed to say, surprising himself when his voice didn't come out high and squeaky.  
  
"I figured as much. You are the three I've read about?" asked Miranda.  
  
"Uh, read about? Probably not. Harry's the only one in books..." Ron answered, looking a bit confused.  
  
"Oh, not in books! I mean in the papers and magazines. Stuff about your current lives and accomplishments! Didn't you know that you three are a very famous Trio?" Miranda grinned at them, and Harry felt a strange warmth in his chest.  
  
"We- I- we didn't know that we were famous! Not the three of us. Harry's famous, not me or Hermione." answered Ron.  
  
"But you are famous. Ever since the Ministry came out with the information about You-Know-Who's return, they've been doing research on Harry and they discovered your little group. They wrote about all your heroics from your first years at Hogwarts." Miranda looked at them in excitement, her face expressing that she was impressed with their accomplishments. Harry felt extremely happy that Miranda thought what they'd done was interesting.  
  
"Well, it's not that interesting really. Voldemort's back now, so there's no reason for them to write about our attempts to stop him before." Hermione said, blushing a little from Miranda's going on about their greatness.  
  
"You said You-Know-Who's name! I'm surprised." remarked Miranda, her happy grin disappearing. Hermione turned to her with an exasperated look on her face.  
  
"How many times are we going to go over this with you Slytherins? Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself!" she said. Miranda studied her for a second  
  
"That's an interesting philosophy Hermione..." Harry stared at Miranda in shock. 'Did she just agree with Hermione?' he wondered.  
  
"But you're wrong." Miranda finished. 'Ah, of course, agreeing with us would have been the impossible .She was in Slytherin.' he thought with a sigh.  
  
"So you disagree?" asked Ron.  
  
"You heard me." she stated. Ron frowned and stumbled on, apparently upset.  
  
"B-But Dumbledore told us that!" Ron stammered stupidly. Miranda sighed and crossed her arms, looking almost sad.  
  
"Even Dumbledore can't always be right, Ron. Not all the time." She sighed again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  
  
"You see, names have certain powers attached to them. Especially evil names. Voicing them, even if you don't have fear, can be extremely foolish." Miranda explained. Harry looked over at Hermione and Ron, then back at Miranda.  
  
"But surely Dumbledore would know about that." Harry frowned. It wasn't like Dumbledore to forget something as important as a magical name.  
  
"Most wizards don't believe in the magic of names. Dumbledore has probably never seen proof. I have. I believe in it." Miranda leaned back against the stone wall.  
  
"What proof?" asked Hermione, curious to find out more about this girl who challenged Dumbledore's word.  
  
"I'd rather we talked about something more pleasant, if you don't mind. Surely you can understand that such proof might not be a very joyful topic?" Miranda asked; her expression pained. Harry felt himself nodding in agreement.  
  
"Yes, let's talk about something else then." He suggested. There was a slight pause as they glanced at each other. The three Gryffindors weren't used to discussing things with a Slytherin. 'But she's not really a Slytherin.' Harry thought to himself. 'She was just put there because she's from Durmstrang.'  
  
"How do you like Hogwarts?" he asked, trying to start a conversation.  
  
"It is... very big." Miranda said, smiling a little. "I can't even begin to guess where I am right now."  
  
"Would you like a tour?" asked Ron eagerly, earning him a scowl from Harry. Was it just him, or did Ron seem a little too eager to spend time with Miranda?  
  
"A tour would be lovely, if you don't mind." Miranda looked at Hermione. The bushy-haired girl bit her lip for a second, in indecision. Eventually she nodded and plastered a smile onto her face.  
  
"No problem at all. We'd love to show you around." Hermione offered. Ron smiled broadly and flung his arms around both their shoulders.  
  
"Great! Hermione will be an awesome guide for you! She knows everything!" Ron proclaimed steering the two girls down the hallway. Harry followed them, feeling a little sulky. Ron's attitude worried him. Ron couldn't possible fancy Miranda too, could he?  
  
~*~*~  
  
Well, that's Chapter Two! Hope you liked it! But then, if you did, you could tell me... I think you know what I'm hinting at. Anyways, I'll work on Chapter 3 and see what happens... byebye 


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